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L. Joy Williams (political strategist)
In the late spring of 2011, L. Joy Williams (political strategist) rose from humble beginnings in the chatroom to beloved co-host of Blacking It Up when co-host Bassey Ikpi stepped down to focus on other projects. Ms. Williams is a political strategist and social entrepreneur who lives in New York City, and she and Elon became fast friends (to the point where people think they must have grown up together or something). She is regularly introduced by her (nearly) full name plus the moniker "Political Strategist," as if it were legally part of her name. But more on that later. "Podcast Marriage" Ms. Williams joined Elon's honorary harem of equals not long into her tenure as co-host to Elon and Aaron. This is the group of women Elon considers to be his very close friends and refers to as his "wives," with a specific area of association appended. In addition to his actual fiancée (Emily), Elon has a "brunch wife" and a "podcast wife" (Ms. Williams), among others. The State of New York does not recognize "podcast marriages" at this time. (By which -- dear new listeners -- we mean, they are not actually married in any way shape or form, and she is friends with Emily.) Theme Song In the summer of 2011, Elon, having had far too much time on his hands and not nearly enough supervision, wrote, produced, and released a single named "L. Joy Williams, Political Strategist." The song includes facts and observations about Ms. Williams, such as "she fights for what's right" regardless of the Sun's position overhead, that she hails from the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, that her lip gloss is popping proportionally to her endless supply of knowledge (with the exception of knowing who the rapper Lupe Fiasco is), and that she "cares about the kids," one of whom (i.e. falsetto Elon) is apparently singing the song before flaming out at the end into scatting and giggles. Elon proceeded to play this song over and over on the show, to the point where Ms. Williams was caught humming her own theme song and began to refer to herself as "L. Joy Williams Political Strategist" in the 3rd person and like it was on her birth certificate. The song was released for download on iTunes and on Amazon, and in both locations it met with surprising sales success. At one point that summer, the single was topping the (comedy) download charts in Greece, perhaps as part of an attempt to shift Greek Euro debts offshore. During a Blacking It Up LIVE in Manhattan, the TWIBIU live audience performed an impromptu a capella rendition of the hit single to Ms. Williams, without the aid of lyrics cue cards or prompters. Appreciation for Wide Faces Ms. Williams is frequently teased on the show for her great love and appreciation for chocolate-hued gentlemen possessing visages of greater-than-average diameters and circumferences. At the end of 2011, Elon James White purchased the domain name WidefaceConnect.com, with the stated intention of creating an online dating service to connect such laterally-gifted gentlemen with upstanding ladies of a similar persuasion to that of Ms. Williams. "Latavia" Ms. Williams no longer publicly uses her full first name. It is apparently "very very Black," whatever that means. Elon knows what it is, but she has apparently set up a doomsday device to deter him from revealing it on air. On several episodes, the mystery of her first name has been an extended joke. As a placeholder, Elon often uses "Latavia" in place of the real name. From time to time, he instead uses names like "LaQuisha" or other similarly questionable Urban Dictionary-style mockery. And occasionally, she is known as "Kal-El Williams" because she grew up (not really "grew up" but let's gloss over that) in Kansas, much like Clark Kent/Superman, and she is widely believed to be a superhero secretly, by many in the Brooklyn and TWIBIU communities. Political Aspirations L. Joy Williams is -- as her title suggests and the section below details -- is deeply involved in New York City and State politics, and has expressed an aspiration to serve as a United States Senator from New York in the future. She has also expressed great trepidation at the future ramifications of her tenure on Blacking It Up, and she has been known from time to time to fall silent very suddenly or "clutch her pearls" when her co-hosts approach a topic that is inherently risqué or is being handled in a risqué fashion. She has also stated her plans to create an opposition research book on everything potentially politically problematic that could arise from the show. She may also claim Elon kidnapped her cat and held it hostage to compel her to remain on the show. It is not yet known whether or not there is any truth to this allegation. Professional Life L. Joy Williams is a dedicated servant to her community, serving as first vice president of the Brooklyn NAACP and a board member of the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA. She has also been featured on BET, Pacifica Radio in New York and Los Angeles, NY1, and several other media outlets. Widely recognized as a highly effective asset, Ms. Williams has served in a variety of career-defining positions. Recently Ms. Williams served as deputy director of community relations to former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson. She went on to become Thompson’s political director in his 2009 mayoral campaign. Peers and mentors alike applauded her invaluable contributions during the challenging campaign. L. Joy began her career in politics as a Field Volunteer for the McCall for Governor campaign in 2002, she served as Campaign Manager for New York State Assembly Member Karim Camara, a GOTV Supervisor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Kerry/Edwards 2004 Presidential campaign, the Election Supervisor for Pacifica Foundation/WBAI Radio in New York, and has served as a Strategic Advisor to a number of elected officials and community leaders. She was a special assistant to former New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and a program assistant at Demos, a nonpartisan public policy and advocacy organization. Ms. Williams’ life and work will undoubtedly remain aligned with helping others in her beloved community of Brooklyn and her clients across the country. (Professional Life section taken from LJWStrategies.com.)